by “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum Nene Leakes revealed Monday that her 23-year-old son, Brentt Leakes, suffered a stroke and congestive heart failure. In several Instagram stories, the reality star and actress spoke candidly about the incident, which she said happened two weeks ago.
“He’s only 23, so he’s too young for this to happen to him,” he said. “The first thing a lot of doctors think when someone that age comes in with this kind of condition is that they might have been on medication or they might have some serious infection, maybe HIV or some kind of infection is what they tell me. the doctors.”
The 54-year-old said her son doesn’t even take drugs and doctors have run a lot of tests but still haven’t found the cause.
“They were thinking maybe he had COVID and he didn’t know he had COVID,” he said. “He never knew [if] he had COVID, I never knew him to have COVID.” Studies have shown that people with pre-existing vascular risk factors could have a stroke while infected with COVID-19. A study from Thomas Jefferson University found “that COVID-19 patients with severe stroke tended to be younger and healthier than most patients with severe stroke and also had more difficult-to-treat cases.”
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Leakes, however, reiterated that doctors still do not know the cause of her son’s stroke, but that his condition is improving. “He’s having trouble talking,” she said, choking up. “I don’t know. I just know, keep us in your prayers.”
Leakes’ husband and Brentt’s father, Gregg Leakes, died in 2021 after a long battle with colon cancer. In the Instagram video, he said the club the family opened together, Linnethia Lounge, might have to be sold. “This is a lot now for me,” he said. “It’s something I shared with Brent after Greg died.”
She added that Brentt FaceTimed her that morning and was in good spirits and showing some improvement, but the family is still in shock. “If we knew the cause, obviously we could deal with the cause,” he said, adding that it was “very scary.”
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Brentt and Leakes’ oldest son Bryson, 32, have both appeared on “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” a Bravo reality show focused on women living in Atlanta. Leakes has starred in the show since it started in 2008. Leakes is also an actor and has had roles on “Glee” and “The New Normal.”
Strokes happen when something blocks the blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Strokes can cause permanent brain damage, disability or death. Heart failure occurs when the heart can’t pump enough blood and oxygen to support other organs, according to the CDC.
While they can occur at any age, the risk of stroke increases with age. The main causes of stroke are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity and diabetes.
Caitlin O’Kane
